Disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, training pants, incontinence garments, feminine hygiene garments and the like have become very popular in the market place today. Typically, adhesive tape tabs fasteners are used to secure the absorbent articles about the waist of the wearer. Such fasteners are generally manufactured separately from the absorbent articles to which they are attached. For example, it is common for the manufacture of tape tabs to take place in different facilities than the manufacture of the absorbent article chassis, and at a different time. Generally, tape tabs are manufactured by applying a release agent to a backing and winding the backing onto a roll. The roll of backing material treated with a release agent is then unwound and coated with pressure-sensitive adhesive. A release substrate is then generally joined to the backing material comprising the pressure-sensitive adhesive, forming a tape stock. The tape stock is then rewound onto rolls for shipping. Finally, at the place of manufacture of the absorbent article, the tape stock is unwound, cut to size, and joined to the chassis of an absorbent article.
An overriding consideration in the construction of a disposable absorbent article is the cost of manufacturing the absorbent article. The present invention provides a reduced cost method for the manufacture of one-piece tape tabs for use with disposable absorbent articles. The tape tabs can be manufactured "on-line", or concurrently with the chassis of the absorbent articles and in the same location. Therefore, there is no need to rewind the tape stock or prepare it for shipping. This eliminates the need to coat the non-adhesive surface of the tape stock with a release agent, simplifying the process of manufacturing the tape tabs. Further, the one-piece tape tabs of the present invention are joined to the absorbent article in such a way that no release substrate is needed to provide a release surface for the pressure-sensitive adhesive of the tape tab. Thus, the one-piece tape tab of the present invention reduces the overall cost of manufacturing tape tabs and, in turn, disposable absorbent articles.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a low cost method for manufacturing one-piece tape tabs for use with disposable absorbent articles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for the on-line manufacture of one-piece tape tabs to be used with disposable absorbent articles.
These and other objectives of the present invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.